Saturday, November 10, 2018

Air travel in India has seen a massive growth over the last few years with India expected to become the world’s third largest aviation market by the year 2026. The Government had announced that India had become the world’s third largest domestic civil aviation market, with passenger traffic of over 100 million during 2016-17.

With such increase in passenger numbers in the recent years, automation will be key to meet this growth. And airports and airlines have turned to technologies like biometrics to better manage the flow of passenger through the airport.

Using biometrics allow passengers to be quickly identified, ensuring a quick check in through the airport. According to SITA’s Air Transport IT Insights, over the next three years, 77 per cent of airports and 71 per cent airlines are planning major programmes or research and development (R&D) in biometric ID management.

People today have welcomed this new advancement in technology with open arms as more than a third of passengers were reported to use automated ID control or biometrics on their last flight and majority of them would definitely use biometrics on their next flight.

The emergence of single biometric token, which allows passengers to be identified by their biometrics without showing documents such as a passport or boarding pass, is probably the most exciting development for flyers hoping to fast track through the airport. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also discovered that every four out of five travelers are keen to use a “digital passport” on their smartphones for as many travel activities as possible.
10/11/18 Maneesh Jaikrishna/Pioneer